Value is Received, Not Given!
Of the many lessons I've learned acting as a third party consultant for growing businesses, the idea that value is received and not given is perhaps the most important. Let's start by defining value for the context of this article:
Value refers to the benefits and outcomes that clients receive as a result of engaging the services of a consultant or advisor. Value can take many forms, including financial returns, cost savings, increased efficiency, improved performance, risk reduction, and strategic advantage.
You have likely heard this term thrown around in day to day corporate communications in phrases like "what's the value add here?" These phrases have merit because it's important to focus on activities that have the potential to add the most value. However, it's also important to understand that adding value isn't just about putting some report together or having a good idea. It's about ensuring that the benefits are relevant and actionable for the intended recipient. Today, we are going to talk about adding value from a client service perspective and three key areas that need to be considered for both the providers and receivers of value.
Relevancy: The value of consulting services is dependent on how relevant the services and solutions are to the client's specific needs and goals. Clients seek out consultants to provide advice and guidance that is tailored to their unique situation, so the value of the services is only received when the consultant is able to provide relevant solutions that work for the client. Every client will be at a different point in their business lifecycle and have a different set of circumstances surrounding their needs, and not every solution will be immediately relevant.
Actionability: Consulting services are only as valuable as they are actionable. The best advice in the world means nothing if the recipient cannot take immediate action on it. For this reason, consultants must consider the expertise, resources, and capability of client personnel while providing recommendations.
Perspective: If actionability is the capability of acting on recommendations, perspective serves as the willingness to act on them. Clients may have an idea of the intended results or outcome of an engagement, and if those thoughts are not properly considered or addressed, the client may not see the value of any recommendations. It’s the consultants responsibility to understand and potentially address the clients perspective in order to provide the value they are looking for or to make them realize the value in something they did not originally expect. Depending on the engagement, the client’s lack of perspective may be the reason the consultant is there in the first place, but it’s important to remember that the client’s perspective is also a core component of them receiving the value of the engagement!
How to Get Value to Clients
Now that you understand why value is received and not given, you can take steps to improve your approach so that your clients receive more value. Take the extra time to talk to the client and understand what recommendations are relevant to their operational goals and are immediately actionable by the staff, and what the client’s perspective might be over these recommendations. By taking the extra time to make the recommendations easier for the client to receive, you are putting them in a position to receive more value!